


All I Need

by TheAsexualofSpades



Series: Quarantine Drabbles [35]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Boys In Love, Dorks in Love, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, POV Arthur, Sharing a Bed, They're so cute guys, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23893720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAsexualofSpades/pseuds/TheAsexualofSpades
Summary: We've seen so many little domestic moments between these two in the mornings before they have to go do things and be adults. What does one of those mornings look like uninterrupted?
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Quarantine Drabbles [35]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1677655
Comments: 9
Kudos: 612





	All I Need

**Author's Note:**

> listen you have no idea how many times I've tried to write something like 'arthur straightens his clothes' or 'merlin straightens, standing' and then been like 'hah these boys don't do anything straight'

Fandom: Merlin (BBC)

Prompt: “You have something in your hair…um—do you want me to get it out?”

* * *

It’s one of those days where the sun lingers behind the eaves of the rooftops, hesitant to show its face and break the light fog that settles over the kingdom. The mist hangs over the town like a sheet of gauze, leaving little droplets on flower petals and the cheeks of those out to greet the dawn.

Arthur wakes gradually, one of the few times he’s not jerked violently out of bed by a sense of urgency or roused unwillingly from a deep slumber. The humidity of the night has a weight to it, hanging in the air like a wet rag. The open window draws the stickiness outside, creating the gentlest of breezes throughout his chambers.

He stays in bed, wondering why there’s a soft ache in his chest, something slightly off-kilter about this morning. He rolls over in bed and realizes there’s only a patch of warmth where another body should be.

Merlin stayed with him last night.

A fond smile touches the corners of Arthur’s mouth as he thinks about how the two of them tried so desperately to assuage the heat as they worked late into the night. First, they threw open the window, staggering at the weight of the air that rushed inside. Then they drank as much water as they could, hoping that the coolness would wash away the heat. They tried with the blind hope of children, fighting against something they knew couldn’t be beaten. Arthur vividly remembers the moment they both realized the ludicrousness of what they were doing when they honestly and seriously considered spending the night in shifts, trying to keep the other cool while they slept.

It wasn’t the first time they’d shared a bed. By this time habits formed, Merlin lay on the far edge, curled around a pillow, Arthur on the other. The heat made it impossible to try and struggle under the blankets, leaving them laid out like fish atop the mattress, gasping for relief. They must’ve drifted off.

At some point, late, late, late in the middle of the night, the heat broke and the night turned cool, rousing them with reluctant fingers. Arthur could feel the goosebumps barely prickling Merlin’s skin as they pulled the thin sheet over them, the cocoon creating just enough warmth for them to fall back asleep.

The sheet isn’t enough now, the light breeze reaching through the thin fabric. His robe hangs off his frame as he pads to the window. Merlin must’ve gone out, he realizes, but he’ll be back soon.

Time seems to stand still this morning, the mist swirling about the square, the sunlight not yet strong enough to dissipate it. Arthur has no intention of beginning to function as an adult until the mist is gone.

The doors to his chamber creaks, Merlin slipping inside on silent feet.

“Oh. You’re awake.”

“Mm,” Arthur mutters, sinking into the chair at the end of the table, watching Merlin unload the tray he’s brought. “Where did you go?”

“Had to get your breakfast, didn’t I?”

“You left me alone,” Arthur pouts, unable to fight the fond smile when Merlin scoffs at his theatrics.

“I was only gone for ten minutes.”

“It’s not my fault you wake up at the crack of dawn.”

“It’s not my fault you’re a lazy daisy.”

Arthur feigns hurt, scrunching his face up in an expression he remembers. Merlin giggles, leaning forward to press a quick kiss to his nose.

“That’s quite enough of that, Mr. Grumpy Face.”

“Is that any way to address your king?”

“Ah, yes, His Royal Majesty the King Grumpy Face Pendragon.”

“And don’t you forget it.”

Merlin chuckles. He nudges the full plate of food towards Arthur, turning away to start on his chores. As he eats, Arthur notices something tucked into a conspicuous fold in Merlin’s jacket.

“ _Mer_ lin,” he drawls, “what are you hiding over there?”

“What?”

Arthur waves at his servant. “You’ve got something in your jacket, Merlin.”

“No, No I don’t.”

“Yes, you do,” Arthur says, “come on. Out with it.”

Merlin, the giant dork, makes a show of patting down his jacket, purposely avoiding the giant lump. _Gods, he’s adorable._

“Can’t find it.”

“ _Mer_ lin.”

“Maybe you should get some more sleep, I think you’re seeing things.”

“Merlin!”

For all his supposed claims of being able to hold his own in a fight, Merlin stumbles over his own feet the second Arthur gets up from the table. He’s barely fast enough to stand back up, let along dodge away from Arthur’s grasp. In fairness, they’re both laughing far too hard.

“Hey! Get off!”

“No,” Arthur declares, wrapping his arms tightly around his prize, “you’re mine now.”

“Ack!” Merlin flails as Arthur just manages to make sure they don’t run into the shelf. “No!”

“Going to tell me the truth now?”

This close, there’s no denying Merlin’s got something tucked into the folds of his jacket. He tightens his grip, making to feel the outline of it when Merlin pushes at his shoulders with a renewed vigor.

“No! Stop, you’ll break them!”

Arthur lets go, watching fondly as Merlin fixes his clothes.

“You prat.”

“Come on, now you have to show me.”

“Don’t think I do.”

“ _Mer_ lin.”

“Oh, alright,” Merlin sighs like it’s some great travesty and he wasn’t going to show Arthur anyway, “close your eyes.”

“What?”

“Close your eyes, dollophead.”

Arthur closes his eyes, listening to a faint rustle and something heavy hitting the table. There’s something reassuring about it being _Merlin_ in front of him, just them, alone. He doesn’t have to be anything else right now, it’s just him and Merlin.

“Okay. You can open your eyes now.”

Arthur listens and almost immediately he breaks out into a smile.

“Did you make these,” he asks, reaching to run a finger down the back of the glass dragon perched on the rag in front of him, “all by yourself?”

Merlin nods. “I’ve been experimenting with the manipulation spells some more, and I think I’ve got them down now.”

Arthur picks up the deer figurine, admiring the way the glass twists effortlessly into the thing spires at the tips of the ears.

“These are _incredible,_ ” he breathes, “thank you, Merlin.”

“How’d you know they’re for you?”

“ _Mer_ lin.”

“Yeah, alright,” Merlin chuckles, “you’re welcome. I just…”

He fidgets as Arthur puts down the deer. “I…wanted to give you something.”

Oh, Merlin.

Outside, a dog bays, long and low in the still morning.

Arthur’s eyes dart over Merlin’s appearance. This absolutely adorable dork. His eyes land on a piece of fluff nestled into Merlin’s curls.

“You have something in your hair,” Arthur murmurs, wary of breaking the silence settling between them, “um—do you want me to get it out?”

Merlin nods, the return to normality accomplished as he steps easily into Arthur’s space so he can run his fingers through Merlin’s hair. The fluff comes away with the first pass of his fingers but it’s so soft, and Merlin is so close, and it’s so easy for Arthur to bring his other hand up, fluffing and playing with Merlin’s tresses.

“Think you’ve got it,” comes the teasing question, “or do I need to stand here for a little longer?”

“Hush,” Arthur says, playfully tugging a strand of Melin’s hair, “let me have my fun.”

“Ah, yes, let’s cancel all of the entertainment for the feast. All the King needs is my hair to play with and he’ll be satisfied.”

“ _Mer_ lin,” he says through his smile, “that would be rude.”

“Since when have you cared about being rude to those awful visiting dignitaries?”

Arthur laughs. “You’d be surprised.”

“With you? Always.”

Arthur finally detangles his fingers from Merlin’s hair. “You were almost right.”

“‘Almost?’ What d’you mean, ‘almost?’”

“That all I needed was your hair and I’d be happy.” Arthur reaches to pick up the dragon, tucking it into Merlin’s hand and cupping it between his own. “Almost.”

The breeze ruffles Merlin’s hair.

“All I need is _you,_ Merlin,” Arthur says, “and I’m happy.”

“Sap.”

“Clotpole.”

“That’s my word.”

“And it suits you perfectly.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Come yell at me on tumblr while we're all in quarantine:
> 
> https://a-small-batch-of-dragons.tumblr.com/


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